The Business Curriculum

The undergraduate business curriculum at the Tepper School of Business offers both breadth and flexibility.

The undergraduate business curriculum is both broad and flexible. Students take classes from across Carnegie Mellon to enhance their skills in quantitative and analytic reasoning and to provide the social, economic and political context for understanding business decisions in a global environment. The curriculum's requirement of an academic minor assures that in each semester, your program will include courses from other Carnegie Mellon colleges outside of the Tepper School. Each student can develop and pursue their unique interests while taking advantage of the world-class faculty and curricular offerings in the liberal arts and sciences, engineering, computer science and arts programs for which we are so well known.

There are eight concentrations — or track areas — that allow for the development of depth in a particular area of business practice. Each track has an outstanding array of courses that focus on current practices, while benefiting from the research of faculty and business leaders who anticipate the knowledge and skills which will be required in the future for our students.

These experiences are further broadened through a variety of projects, project courses, internships and leadership development activities. These allow students to put into practice the skills and knowledge that they are acquiring in the classroom, giving them the confidence they need to begin and develop their careers over a lifetime.

The first year of the curriculum is devoted to acquiring skills for analysis, communication and context through courses in economics, quantitative skills development and the liberal arts. The next two years focus on developing the core competencies for in-depth study related to a track and selecting a minor. The last year is for in-depth study in the track and completing the minor requirement.

The curriculum components and their course requirements are shown in this overview, below. Additional details of the business curriculum may be viewed at the Carnegie Mellon Undergraduate Catalog.

While the practice of business is general, in-depth knowledge creates strengths for accessing careers and further study. Students must select and complete one track out of eight options. Each track has six course requirements. Click here to see the list of tracks and their courses.

Breadth Requirements

A broad range of seven liberal arts and sciences courses build understanding of people and cultures.

The course categories are:

Interpretation and Argument

Global Histories

Science and Technology

Human Cognition, Choice and Behavior

Political and Social Institutions

Creative Production and Reflection

Cultural Analysis

Professional Service Project

Professional development and social networking can be cultivated through service in student or community organizations. Students must complete a one-semester service project course.

Minor

To complement their study in business, students must complete one minor outside of the Tepper School. This is a distinguishing feature of our business degree, as it adds breadth to our students' education and gives them a chance to learn from some world-renowned faculty in other programs across campus.